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Variation in visual codes and symbols across customs & cultures
Beyond black: the colours of death across cultures
Diversity in the visual codes of death in global funerary practices
A lesson for our times
The enduring echoes of Argentina's Dirty War
The Battle of Tolhuis, Louis XIV crosses the Lower Rhine at Lobith on 12 June 1672; Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands
What Louis XIV can teach today’s policymakers
Louis XIV waged war for supremacy and lived to tell the tale, his strategy still speaks
Gabriel’s fight was not against men, but against the lie of equality written without justice
Untold and untaught history: Gabriel, freedom fighter
A fight for true American ideals
Job and His Friends by Ilya Repin (1869)
The timeless lessons of Adam, Eve, and Job
Faith amid temptation and trials
African American women played an important and influential role in the Black Power Movement. They held leadership roles in various black nationalist organizations, including the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense
My hair is not the problem
How Black masculinity, respectability politics, and the white gaze have policed my curls—and why I wear them as freedom
The Headless Horseman pursues Ichabod Crane in an illustration by Edward Hull (1823-1906)
Sleepy Hollow, a Dutch Halloween legend
Beyond the Headless Horseman: a deep dive into Sleepy Hollow's origins
Color photo of 3I/ATLAS by the Gemini South Observatory on 27 August 2025, showing its fuzzy coma and tail
3I/ATLAS: Humanity’s third interstellar visitor
The third known interstellar visitor blurs the line between natural phenomenon and possible technology
Two titans of philosophy—Hegel and Schopenhauer—captured side by side, embodying the tension between reason’s promise and the raw force of the will
Hegel vs. Schopenhauer: power and philosophy
One the prophet of progress, the other the philosopher of reality, revealing the politics behind ideas and the will beneath reason
Everyone’s chasing conspiracies, except the detectives
Who killed Hispanic detectives?
From noir to narco: how detectives vanished from Hispanic fiction
A terrified young woman clings to a pillar amid the ruins of a Gothic castle, while a shadowy figure drags another woman into the darkness, evoking themes of fear, captivity, and female vulnerability
Are Northanger ‘horrid novels’ actually horrid?
How fear and disgust are portrayed in gothic novels
Guernica, by Pablo Picasso: a canvas that carried the cry of Spain across the world
From New York to Madrid: a generation against tyranny
Scholars, artists, and idealists in the fight against Spanish fascism
A grandfather reading a story to his grandkid, signifying how important it is to pass down traditions and stories through generations
The role of storytelling in preserving identity
How stories help mould perspective, protect heritage, and shape identity across generations
A man sits in quiet reflection, watching a public figure on screen—capturing the contrast between introspective thought and the spectacle of modern genius
Pop genius Musk, Nolan, Kojima: a recipe for fame
How we mistake loudness for brilliance and reverence for relevance
The Yakovalı Hasan Paşa Mosque (Hungarian: Jakováli Hasszán dzsámija, Turkish: Yakovalı Hasan Paşa Camii) is an early 17th-century mosque in Pécs, southern Hungary. It was constructed when the region was part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, together with the main mosque of Pécs
Turkish cultural influence in Hungary
From Ottoman baths to borrowed words and shared cuisine, a look at how centuries of Turkish presence shaped Hungary’s identity
SMS Goeben was the last surviving battlecruiser built by the Imperial German Navy and the only one to receive a NATO hull number
Goeben/Yavuz: the warship that changed history
From a German escape to decades in Turkish service, one battlecruiser reshaped empires and survived two world wars
Night view of the Tilya Kori Madrasah in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, famed for its golden interiors and role as both a mosque and madrasa
Samarkand to host UNESCO’s 43rd General Conference
Samarkand becomes the stage for historic global decisions on cultural diplomacy, technology, and gender equality
A young women interacting with her TikTok app for entertainment and information
What will it take to be creative now?
Rethinking creativity in a world driven by capital, digital content and code
When artificial intelligence is developed without balance, human systems lose cohesion and stability
Artificial intelligence and the future of humanity
An analysis of the proportionality between energy and matter in human-artificial evolution using the Princonser Universal Scientific Method
An elderly yakuza member smoking outside, his expression calm and contemplative
The cultural legacy of Japan’s Yakuza
A reflection on crime, culture, and the enduring symbolism of Japan’s Yakuza
Digital artwork representing a collective mind or shared intelligence
Retrieval-augmented generation and the future of knowledge
From storage to interaction
A silent embrace: proof that affection transcends language and politics
A hug, Tiananmen Square, and the human connection
Unpacking the meaning of communication in a connected world
A solitary figure gazes into the unknow, a visual echo of longing, interior transformation, and the quiet resistance to a world obsessed with certainty
The right to become
Toward a post-technocratic ethics of becoming, difference, and civilizational intelligence
Le Château d'eau and plaza, Exposition Universal, 1900, Paris, France
An interview with Silvia Maira and Serena Lo Pilato
The golden years of the Florio dynasty
"The Hall of Torments," the Inquisition in Narni, 16th and 17th centuries. Photo by Mauro Montini ©Narni Sotterranea
Narni underground: a journey into the dungeons of the soul
Giuseppe Andrea Lombardini and Roberto Nini: beyond the thresholds of time, between the darkness of imprisonment and the light of discovery
Pierre-George Jeanniot Le salon de Madame Madeleine Lemaitre (1891)
The allure of powerful women: the salon hostess
The salon as cultural indicator of change
Two friends, one unforgettable bond, and a shared love for coffee and conversation © Illustration by Paola Bilancieri
A century of courage, friendship, and laughter
A friendship, a life, and a toasted matzo
Woman sitting on bed with flying books
Top 5 books to start reading classics
Easy-entry classics that show it’s time to dust off the shelves
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden by Wenzel Peter, Vatican Museum
How God turns struggles into spiritual victories
Faith and spiritual armor in the battle against the Devil's schemes
Map of coastal South Carolina showing the Stono River, Charleston, and Boone’s Island—the landscape from which the 1739 rebellion for freedom began
The Stono Rebellion: untold and untaught history
Cato’s fight for liberty and the hidden history of 1739
The evolving landscape of human connection: a mosaic of fleeting bonds and shifting groups in the contemporary world
The transitory nature of coexistence
Grouping and dispersion in the contemporary world
During Tihar, a Nepali couple honors a cow with offerings and rituals
Tihar: the festival of lights, culture, and harmony in Nepal
Five days of worship, music, food, and the celebration of animals, deities, and family bonds
Walter Deutsch, Austrian musicologist and cultural icon: was his influence purely artistic, or part of a larger Cold War intelligence operation?
The wind of change in Austrian Music
Was Walter Deutsch a CIA asset?
A symbolic artwork of the human struggle with chains of desire and fear, reaching toward transcendence and the fragile possibility of freedom
The burden of freedom and the struggle to transcend
Exploring helplessness, desire, and the inner path to liberation
A haunting 18th-century-style painting of a grieving woman beside a midnight bell, symbolizing the tragic consequences of suspicion and false judgment
Francis Lathom’s gothic warning
The dangers of suspicion and false judgment in The Midnight Bell
A man focused on editing content while working on his computer
What Sri Lankan media reveals about us
A personal take on how traditional media and social media trends reflect the collective mindset of a nation
A weathered photo album filled with faded memories
The chemistry of belonging
Tracing the elements of home
Alone in the crowd: Camus’s exile in the modern world
Albert Camus: loneliness in the absurd
The feeling of exile in his American Journals
Recife, the capital of Pernambuco, is a major cultural and economic hub in Brazil's northeast, known for its canals, bridges, and historic architecture
A fascinating interview with Michael Steinberger
Tracing the hidden Jews of Brazil
Khanqah Naqshband Sahib, a shrine dedicated to the revered Sufi saint Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani, also known as Nund Rishi, Srinagar, India
Sheikh Noor-ud-Din and the soul of Kashmir
The indigenous saint who bridged faith, language, and culture in the valley's Islamic transformation
Asuras are mythical beings in Indian mythology, often depicted with special powers. While some are considered demons or anti-gods, others are benevolent figures and saviors
Asuras, Daityas, and Rakshasas: mythical forces unveiled
Moral ambiguities and timeless relevance of cosmic adversaries in Indian mythology
An anonymous world map in the visor of a fool's cap, Antwerp, c. 1590. The detail is apparently after Abraham Ortelius (c. 1587). Only a few examples of this rather disturbing image are known. (retrieved from The Mapmaker's Art: A History of Cartography by John Goss, pg. 341)
Maps of the imagination
How cartography blends science, art, and ideology across time
A person from an indigenous African tribe wearing traditional makeup and costume while staring at a mask in their hand, symbolizing the struggle of the modern African youth caught between tradition and modernity
Dissociation from reality
The loss of identity in a relentless fight between tradition and modernity
Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula, was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77
Vampire’s curse: how the Balkans battled the undead
Vampire legends between history and culture
Semerkant Registan Ulugbek Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and other scholars, Uzbekistan
Ibn Sina: the medical and philosophical genius
How the Central Asian polymath’s legacy of science, faith, and wisdom continues to inspire the world
Krazy Kat is an American newspaper comic strip, created by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944
The wild, weird, and wonderful world of comic book cats
Five unforgettable comic book cats who clawed their way into pop culture legend
Embodying confidence and allure, she stands at the intersection of shame and self-acceptance, challenging societal norms
Breaking the silence: understanding sexual shame
How cultural norms shape our views on sexuality and pleasure
Africans have made a home in various parts of the world, reflecting not only their adaptability but also their resilience in the face of challenges
Why Africans can be found in every part of the world
How Africans built communities and shaped cultures across the world
Flows of energy and matter intertwine, visualizing the dynamic balance underlying technological evolution
Energy and matter in the evolution of the technological eras
An analysis of the Princonser Method that reveals the stable proportion between information and structure as the basis of sustainable systems
The horizon glows softly, reminding us that endings can also be beginnings
When the Cold War froze
A life's journey through global conflicts and personal revelations
A photo of four philosophical busts, featuring Aristotle and other great thinkers, capturing the essence of timeless wisdom
Ethics for people who hate ethics
A slightly unhinged, hilariously questionable guide to moral philosophy
A presence beyond authorship, coherence in becoming
The real question is meaning, not AI
Authorship, AI, and the ethics of orientation
The wooden table, adorned with antique books, vintage marine charts, and a compass, creates a perfect setting for exploring geography and maritime history
European colonialism and the 'Oriental Renaissance'
The legacy of European expansion on eastern traditions and thought
Abandoned and neglected sculptures stand in a cave beside a still body of water, remnants of a forgotten artistic legacy
Abandonment of culture in a money-driven world
Society’s obsession with profit is suffocating art, creativity, and meaning
The devil's silluette with a dark background
The fall of Lucifer: the devil’s role in spiritual warfare
Exploring Lucifer’s transformation into Satan, his impact on humanity, and strategies for spiritual vigilance
Denmark Vesey Monument in Hampton Park, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Untold and untaught history: Denmark Vesey
The hidden story of America's largest slave rebellion and the man who led it
A cup of coffee and a copy of An Ember in the Ashes on a cozy wooden table
Beyond European male fantasy
How women authors are reshaping fantasy with fresh worlds and diverse magic
Two elderly people sitting on a metal bench on a warm summer day in Córdoba, Spain
Life observations of a forty-year-old alien
The search for belonging
A lone figure in a surreal landscape evokes the inner desert of unmet desires and the search for self-acceptance explored in the article
Loneliness and the impossibility of encounter
Living as islands or as dots in the desert
The Return from Fishing: Hauling the Boat by Joaquín Sorolla, a luminous tribute to Valencian laborers, echoes the same dignity and hardship portrayed in La Barraca’s immigrant farmers of the Huerta
Immigration, injustice and legacy according to Blasco Ibáñez
Exposing 19th-century Valencia’s social wounds while revealing timeless lessons on migration and prejudice
A symbolic portrayal of dialogue and identity—two figures face each other in a swirl of colors, reflecting the search for solidarity beyond division
Toward a vision of positive solidarity
Drawing distinctions without enemies
In the Cold War’s great game, identities were masks worn to perfection
The JFK files and the Soviet scientist
Assassination, space race, UFOs, and Cold War secrets
Following in the footsteps of giants requires more than imitation — it demands humility, courage, and a path of one’s own
Replacing a giant: the art of succession
Navigating the delicate path of leadership when stepping into the shoes of a beloved predecessor
A haunting moment unfolds in a dimly lit dungeon, where grief, fear, and desperation converge—capturing the gothic intensity and emotional turmoil of The Mysterious Warning by Eliza Parsons
Eliza Parsons’ 'The mysterious warning' revisited
Gothic conventions, patriarchal cruelty, and eighteenth-century politics in a forgotten classic
Monument to Alisher Navoi and Jami Abdurakhman in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Alisher Navoi: poet and statesman
His legacy in Turkic and Persian literature
"The Re-Electing of Reynard, or Fox the Pride of the Geese," London, England. A satirical print depicting a fox being re-elected, surrounded by geese
Renard the fox: the evolution of a cunning antihero
The legacy of Le Roman de Renard in literature and art
A young Kenyan showcasing countries where English has spread across the globe
English isn’t broken, it’s just under new management
From Kenya to India, discover how English has evolved through local culture across the global south
A vivid representation of artificial intelligence as a dynamic fusion of energy and matter, evolving through cycles of transformation in a technologically saturated world
The age of artificial intelligence
A systemic vision from the Princonser Method
The path toward excellence stretches endlessly—not a road to a final destination, but a horizon that expands with each step forward
The horizon that never arrives
Why excellence is an endless journey
In the quiet blur of passing strangers, an unexpected sense of unity and presence quietly emerges
Airport epiphanies: existence and life
Glimpses of an indescribable existence beyond the everyday
A couple in their bedroom sharing a moment of intimacy, a reminder that affection, legality and consent must go hand in hand
Age of consent
A global and historical examination of sexual consent laws
Victor Gabriel Gilbert, Flower Seller Making a Bouquet
How did flowers end up having a meaning?
Symbolism, culture, and emotion through blooming beauty
Francois Boucher Madame de Pompadour (1756)
The allure of strong women
The royal mistress at the French court
A women feeling the crushing pain of domestic violence and navigating through it
Domestic violence against women in Somali communities
Why generations of women have suffered and how we can change the future
“Song of the Towers” by Aaron Douglas (1934) captures the resilience and resistance of African Americans, echoing the spirit of the freedom fighters whose stories are too often left untold in American history
Untold and untaught history: America’s true freedom fighters
The buried legacy of those who fought for freedom not granted to them
Göbekli Tepe is a Neolithic archaeological site located in Upper Mesopotamia (al-Jazira) in present-day Turkey. The settlement was occupied from approximately 9500 BCE to at least 8000 BCE, during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period
From cave paintings to cuneiform
Tracing the development of symbolism and the birth of written language
Two girls walk down the street, embracing each other in a warm hug, sharing a moment of kindness and connection
The art of small kindness
Connection in a fragmented world
People from diverse backgrounds glued to their smart devices, immersed in endless scrolling—highlighting the modern addiction to constant connectivity
Free yourself from the relentless information barrage
There certainly is a virtue in the new philosophy: “less is more”
A lone figure stands between two opposing landscapes—one vibrant with autumn’s fiery hues, the other cold and fading into mist—visually embodying the inevitability of transformation and the dialectical balance between opposites
Opposition and mediation in everyday life
Embracing change and finding solutions in a world of duality
Fort St. Angelo (Maltese: Forti Sant'Anġlu or Fortizza Sant'Anġlu) is a bastioned fort in Birgu, Malta, located at the centre of the Grand Harbour
The Maltese language
A unique blend of Arabic, Italian, and English heritage
A woman standing behind the ruins of a torn-down castle, creating a spooky thriller atmosphere
Karl Friedrich Kahlert’s "The necromancer"
Unmasking the supernatural in a gothic tale of mystery and deception
Through war photography and photojournalism, a photographer chronicles life in conflict zones, revealing the human cost of war and humanitarian struggles
Photojournalism: capturing stories that matter
Visual storytelling that connects us to the world, exposes injustice, and documents history
People from different cultures standing together may experience cultural misunderstandings, often leading to stronger prejudices and biases
Cultural misunderstandings and their impact
The roots and consequences of bias with insights from "The Literature Express"
Six African American women dressed in white pants pose together in the USA
Who is truly African American?
Identity and ethnicity in modern America
Sir Peter Lat, a visionary mentor whose belief in others empowered a generation
A mentor’s legacy: remembering Sir Peter Lat
Honoring a man whose unwavering beliefs in others created opportunities and left a lasting legacy
The Chausath Yogini Temple in Morena, Madhya Pradesh, is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to the 64 Yoginis, the female attendants of the goddess Shakti. Constructed in the 10th century, this temple stands as a testament to India's rich spiritual heritage and architectural brilliance
Enigmatic 64 Yoginis: guardians of cosmic energy in tantra
The origins, powers, and sacred temples of the divine feminine beings
The Ma'nene Ritual is a traditional ceremony in Tana Toraja where the bodies of ancestral family members are exhumed, carefully cleaned, and dressed in new clothes as a way to honor and show respect for the deceased
Living with the dead: Indonesian death rituals
The sacred rituals of Ma’nene in Tana Toraja
Dreaming between worlds — where inner vision begins shaping the Earth we long for
Dreaming a new world, a new earth
Imagination leads the way
Sultan Selim III holding an audience in front of the Gate of Felicity, with courtiers assembled in strict protocol. Oil on canvas. Topkapı Palace Museum, Istanbul (Inv. 17/163), Turkey
Ottoman statesmen and their nicknames
Nicknames of statesmen reveal their personalities, victories and declines in the Ottoman Empire
Members of Malaysia’s aboriginal communities in Selangor Province, photographed in July 2006
Under the crust of Penang
Sumay Cheah and Joël Lim Du Bois: seeking an authentic way to understand the other
Timur, also known as Tamerlane, was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty
Amir Temur: a symbol of justice and power
The sword of Islam and the architect of an empire
The Analysis of Beauty, Plate 1 (1753) by William Hogarth, is part of his exploration into the principles of artistic beauty. This particular plate is housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States
William Hogarth: pioneer of comics and political cartoons
From 18th-century engravings to modern comics
A reenactment of the Daranshi Cave massacre on Jeju Island, depicting the tragic events of the 1948 incident, South Korea
Han Kang and the memory of the Jeju massacre
Han Kang turns historical trauma into a quiet meditation on grief and memory
A symbolic encounter between human consciousness and artificial intelligence, representing the need for balanced integration to ensure a harmonious, evolving future
The future of humanity in the age of AI
An analysis based on the universal scientific Princonser method
1 Palestinian mils, 1927, with "Palestine" written in English, Arabic, and Hebrew
Pre-partition Palestinian coins
Numismatic imagery and representation until 1948
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